Archive for the ‘Andrew Whyte’ tag

From the very first Swallow sidecar that raced in England back in the 1920s to the XJR-6s that competed at Le Mans in the mid-1980s, all the really important information about all the factory-backed Jaguars that raced is included in this exceptional two-volume book set.

Penned by noted Jaguar historian, Andrew Whyte – which just about guarantees that the facts are thorough and as accurate as can be – is what really makes these books oh-so special. Perhaps this is why historians, collectors, owners and enthusiasts consider these two books to be the absolute definitive work on the subject of Jaguar factory-backed competition.

Information within covers the cars fairly in-depth, with insightful material on their design and engineering, the men responsible for their creation, and a thorough account of the most important races that they competed in, including personal accounts from some of the engineers and drivers involved. There are also comprehensive appendices that list the particulars of all the C-types, D-types, XKSS and special bodied E-types built. There’s even information on all the different XK-powered hybrids that competed using Jaguar’s famous twin-cam straight-six engines, including Cooper-Jaguars, Lister-Jaguars and others.

Most important, and of most interest are the hundreds of archival photographs, many of which are so rare that they have only been published in these books. While 99 percent of the photos are black-and-white, that doesn’t diminish their value or impact on the story.

Each book is 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size, hardcover, with a jacket that features Jaguar-commissioned illustrations by Terrence Cuneo. The first book runs 415 pages in length, while a mighty 624 pages fill book number two. Keep in mind that these are not fluffy coffee table-type books, rather they were written for serious Jaguar enthusiasts and racing connoisseurs who want to learn all the hardcore facts behind Jaguar’s racing exploits, the cars and the men who drove them.

New copies of the first editions, which were published in 1982 and 1987, are no longer available; however, new copies of the reprinted edition of Volume I, which are also now fairly hard to come by, start at around $600 each, with used copies selling for about $300; reprinted editions of Volume II sell for half those amounts. If you look hard enough, you can find them for a bit less, but not much. However, if you consider yourself a hardcore Jaguar fanatic, then you owe it to yourself to own these two truly exceptional automotive books. There simply are none better.